More special education teachers needed: Teo

KLANG: The government wants more future teachers to get into the field of special education as there were currently many vacancies for it throughout the country.
Deputy Education Minister Teo Nie Ching (pix) said special education was among the sectors which must be given attention by all concerned to help the government improve and change national education.
Taking Selangor as an example, Teo said there were currently 56 vacancies for special education teachers and 207 posts for pupil management assistants in primary and secondary schools.
"I am sure the figures (for special education teachers) are higher for the whole country. Which is why the government is calling on future teachers to apply for this field and in the future, we will be taking in more teachers and pupil management assistants to meet this need," Teo told reporters after attending 2018 National-Level Special Education Sports Championship dinner here last night.
Earlier, Teo read out the text of the speech by Education Minister Dr Mazlee Malek, who urged the public to provide equal space and opportunities for people with special needs so that they could also contribute to the nation.
Skills, he said, could help handicapped persons be more self-reliant without needing help from others.
As of October last there, there were 78,310 pupils with special needs registered in schools throughout the country. — Bernama